The invention is related to the art of dynamic trunk group or bearer path resource allocation in a communications network. The invention will be described, for the most part, in terms of ISUP (Integrated Services Digital Network User Part) trunk group member allocation. However, the invention can be applied to the allocation of communications bandwidth in networks based on other protocols.
A trunk is a communications link between two switches. A trunk can include wired connections, fiber optic connections or other communications links such as an RF or microwave link. A trunk group is a collection or set of trunks that link two geographic points or switches. For example, currently, in some networks, trunk groups include a collection of DS0 (Digital Signal, level 0) channels that interconnect two switches in a given network. A DS0 channel is a 64 KBPS digital communications channel typically used to carry one voice conversation.
In Time Division Multiplexing networks (TDM), trunk groups are defined on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. The number of channels within a given trunk group is engineered to be equal to the maximum number of simultaneous calls expected between two switches served by the trunk group.
Each permanent or semi-permanent DS0 channel or trunk group member requires each of the two switches to dedicate a DS0 interface to that channel or trunk group member. Additionally, other network resources must be dedicated to the trunk group member. For example, proxies or tandems that are used to interconnect the two switches must dedicate interconnecting hardware and interconnecting wire or fiber to connect the two DS0 interfaces.
Since these channels are set up on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, during low traffic periods, a significant number of switch and network resources are idle and cannot be used for any other purpose. This represents a significant waste of network resources.
Furthermore, as network traffic patterns change, the permanent or semi-permanent nature of the provisioning of trunk groups and trunk group members means that present telephony networks are slow to react. For instance, when traffic conditions change and the peak traffic volume increases beyond the current capacity of a trunk group, craft personnel must take manual action to reprovision network resources to increase the size of the trunk group in order to accommodate the increased demand. The time required to alert craft personnel to the overload and for the craft personnel to resolve the situation can lead to dropped calls and delayed connections. Similar delays in reallocating resources occur when traffic between the switches diminishes.
Therefore, there is a desire for a method and system for dynamically managing or allocating switch interfaces and network resources from a common pool of available interfaces and network resources.